Why Is It Important That Managers Use Knowledge Taken from Psychology - Essay Example

?Business Management a) Why is it important that managers use knowledge taken from psychology? Psychology helps managers in various aspects concerning human behaviour and thoughts, therefore, playing a crucial role in organisational operation as shown in this paper. Improving Interactions The manager can apply knowledge in Psychology to improve the relationships between the workers. This can done by putting those who have complimentary personalities together and dividing tasks in a way that they will interact in a peaceful way without any conflicts arising among them (Conrad, 2009). Recruitment Managers find Psychology to come in handy when they are recruiting for new job positions in their firms. Managers bearing acute knowledge in psychology are able to tell the different personalities that are needed in the various workplaces and they are able to match different teams with the appropriate team members. This helps the organisation avoid serious recruiting mistakes, thus growing stronger in its workforce (Conrad, 2009). Organisational culture This involves the behaviour of people working in the organisation, how they relate to one another and the meaning that they attach to their roles. Managers need to have knowledge in Psychology to enable them devise plans and strategies that will help in overcoming the challenges within their workforce. They are also able to retain the workforce by understanding their needs and rewards thus retaining them. They are also able to make better and informed decisions when they need to cut costs within the firm. They are able to appease their employees even when the firm is going through some rough times (Conrad, 2009). Development Managers with knowledge in psychology are able to invest in the employees through managerial, leadership, and personal development. This enables the firm to retain the best employees, motivate them and also attract other top performers. This in turn gives the firm competitive advantage with its rival firms (Conrad, 2009). Humanistic Theory of Motivation It is founded on the idea that individuals possess powerful cognitive reasons that influence them into working towards particular goals. Sources of motivations among individuals change as they proceed from basic needs to self-actualisation in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. A well-paying job can be a great source of motivation for the individuals at the initial stage of the hierarchy of needs. As the individual progresses the motivators change and finding meaning in the job, creativity and independence can be the new powerful motivators. Maslow called this compensation when one is motivated by and gives more importance to competencies rather than meta-pay. Organisation of the work environment is very crucial given the changing needs of workers. The managers need to understand this aspect and utilise psychology to implement the necessary strategies to address this issue (Cherry, 2013). Psychology is important as it helps create self-awareness in the managers. They become aware of their strengths and weaknesses, therefore, having total control of all situations in the firm. They also become aware of their surroundings. They are able to understand the behaviour of their subordinates, workers, customers and their clients, thus having the ability to provide better services and a serene work environment. Having knowledge in psychology helps the managers understand different kinds of employees, therefore, finding them positions or departments where they can work well and foster good relationships with others. 1. b) Examine the problems that managers may encounter when seeking to apply psychology to their role Wrong interpretation of situations The managers may interpret a certain situation wrongly, which will mislead them into making wrong decisions. Managers may walk into a situation at the workplace or with the clients and due to limited interaction with them; they may make the wrong interpretation. This stems from making unfounded assumptions that may lead to the wrong application of Psychology knowledge, which may produce undesired results. Therefore, it is important for a manager to seek insight and adequate information concerning a specific situation to avoid such mistakes. Take the example where a company’s marketing manager sees the need to introduce a new product in the market based on observing some clients’ needs. In the event that the customers’ preferences may change, the manager may already have made the wrong interpretation thus introducing a product that the customers no longer need (Braddy, Meade and Kroustalis, 2006: 527). Inadequate psychology knowledge In order to make suitable decisions in reference to human behaviour at the workplace, the managers need to have adequate knowledge in the field of psychology. This will help them contribute to the development of the company as they properly manage their workers to ensure that they bring out the best in them. However, in some cases the managers may have inadequate information about dealing with some situations, which can result to crisis. Complicated situations may arise thus prompting the need for a professional to intervene especially when the manager wants to retain the employees. This may require the company to hire an extra team of professions who will rearrange he working environment or save the situation using other methods (Braddy, Meade and Kroustalis, 2006: 527). Lack of proper tools to implement their findings Managers may correctly interpret a situation but lack the tools to implement the decisions they have made. They may possess the knowledge and make the right decisions but may need the firm to provide external assistance for the implementation of their findings. This may happen when major changes need to be implemented in the firm and the stakeholders may require expert opinion before implementing the changes (Braddy, Meade and Kroustalis, 2006: 528). 2. How far is it fair to say that management in the public sector faces different problems from management in private enterprise? Are there not common problems and challenges faced by all managers, regardless of their work context? The public sector as well as the private sector management faces many challenges. The public sector has many negative views concerning their capacity to deliver goods and services compared to the private sector. When it comes to accountability, public enterprises enjoy a higher degree of autonomy compared to the private enterprises. However, the two sectors face some common problems as shown in this paper. Achieving goals Public and private enterprise management are all guided by goals. The goals may differ but the management ensures that the business processes are geared towards achieving their defined goals. Whether the management is concerned with developing new products or acquiring new market, the managements need to organise their resources and work towards their objectives. Both managements are tasked with motivating their employees and overcoming roadblocks (Harwell, 2009). Handling underperforming employees Public and private enterprises are met with the challenge of dealing with underperforming employees. This may be based on a few issues, which the management should be able to investigate and provide the solutions. The managers can motivate their employees or provide the necessary resources to engage them in their workplaces. These are challenges that both the private and the public enterprises management face (Brindle, 2010). Handling spectacular employees Some employees will outperform the others and the management has the challenge of dealing with these employees so as to keep them motivated and retain them. The management must ensure that they understand the needs of outstanding employees. This helps in knowing the kinds of rewards that one will give them to ensure that they keep performing excellently. They require encouragement, guidance and recognition for their competencies, skills and efforts in their work. Rewards can be based on monetary gifts, promotions, plaques and many others but it is the management’s task to find the suitable rewards (Harwell, 2009). Training and recruiting the right candidates Public and private sector enterprises management need to possess qualified employees that will work effectively towards the realisation of the company’s goals. The employees can only be selected using a proper recruiting exercise and trained well to effectively work in the organisation. The task of hiring is usually easy but the management must make sure that the right person is hired. Using the appropriate interview techniques is crucial and it is the task of the management to decide on this issue (Harwell, 2009). Reacting to crisis facing the organisation In the organisations, proper planning may not be enough to avert one crisis or the other. Things usually tend to go wrong at one moment and this is tasked to the management, which needs to come up with a proper plan or strategy that will get things back to normalcy. Various crises can arise from serious issues such as extreme weather which disrupts the firm’s operations to frivolous matters such as an employee’s absenteeism due to a sickness. The management needs to make quick decisions that need to be highly effective in the event of a crisis. Both private and public enterprises are faced with crisis all the times (Brindle, 2010). References Braddy, P.W., Meade, A.W. & Kroustalis, C.M. (2006) ‘Organisational Recruitment Perceptions of Organisational Culture.’ Journal of Business and Psychology, 20(4), 525-543. Cherry, K. (2013). Theories of Motivation. About.com Psychology. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologytopics/tp/theories-of-motivation.htm Conrad, C. (2009). What Role Does Psychology Play in Business? Thompson Dunn, Business Psychologists. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://thompsondunn.com/index.php/2009/03/14/what-role-does-psychology-play-in-business/ Harwell, T. (2009). The 7 Biggest Challenges of a Manager. MakingITclearA®. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://blog.makingitclear.com/2009/11/11/managerchallenges/ Brindle, D. (2010, January 23). Public v private sector: Is the grass greener?. The Guardian. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/jan/23/public-private-sector-grass-greener Read More